It has been a few months already that I was part of Alysia’s special day. I know you all agree that time flies by way too quick. All we have left are just memories.
It was a beautiful day in March, a very good time to get married in Arizona, just before the heat took over. It was a long day, especially for the wedding party, since we had to start early in the morning, like at 8 o’clock, to make sure everyone was ready by the time the pictures were on the schedule.
Three of the Bridesmaids, the Maid Of Honor, Mother Of The Bride and, of course, the most important person, the Bride, made my very special guests in the makeup chair.
A few months before her wedding, I met with Alysia and did a trial. Trials are so important, and I really recommend including them as part of your event. You have no idea how much stress it takes away on your wedding day! And here it is my lovely bride right before she got in her dress:

This is Alysia on her day, enjoying her time with the girls. I just love this shoot!

The bride requested that her bridesmaids should all have the same makeup style (nothing wrong about that), so I respected that. The color combo I used for their eyes was: Blanc Type, Nylon, Embark, Saddle, all by MAC. Here is a close up of the makeup.

Recently I had the pleasure of working with Yesica, the owner of Bella Acosta Photography, for a project she was working on for her business. She is an Arizona based photographer, specializing in High School Senior Portraits. Our beautiful model was Azucena, a teenage girl that is going to graduate this year.

Because spring is here and so is Graduation , I wanted to share some makeup tips with you and also list some of the products I used on this young girl.
The first image that I envision when I think of these misses, is the one of a fresh young skin that shows its natural glow. Why would we hide it under tons of makeup, with a lot of contour to distract everyone away from its natural beauty? Not everything that is on social media platforms is trendy. And there are different types of makeup for every occasion. One size does not fit all! Just enhancing this, is the key to flawless skin.
Another part of the face that I like to consider are the eyebrows. When I think of the eye makeup I also think of beautiful groomed brows to frame the eyes. They can change your whole features and might make you look not like the real you if they are done wrong. All you have to do is just emphasize them and you are going to be so thankful years later, while looking at your Senior pictures.
Choosing just one feature to be the main focus, either the eyes or the lips, is gonna create a nice balance to your makeup. Soft smoky eyes ( colors like brown, beige, champagne, taupe just to name a few) and neutral lips if you would like to stress your eyes could be an option. Or, if you prefer to enhance your beautiful lips, a bolder color (red, pink, coral) and soft eyes could be a great alternative, as well.Would you like to recreate Azucena’s makeup look?

I recently got my makeup light and I was asked so many questions about it. So, I decided to write a review about it. I hope it would help everyone searching for their ideal light.
Lighting plays a very important role in a makeup artist’s life. As all my services are on-location, I needed good source of lighting in order to achieve a perfect complexion. One of the first things I was doing when getting to my client’s house or to a hotel room was to find a spot where lighting was the best, and most of the time that used to be by the window. And even if Arizona is sunny pretty much all the time, the insides are pretty dark. So, being by the windows helped me , but did not make me happy. Now, some would probably wonder why I could not just do the makeup by turning the lights on. Well, I tried, especially when it was getting dark outside and I was still working. And you know what? That made the application process even more difficult, especially when dealing with matching the foundation. Because the bulb lights found inside are either too cold or too warm in temperature and alters the tone of the makeup being applied.
It was then when I realized I was missing something so important in my kit: a very good light to be able to carry with me. I mean…the best light that I could get, because I wanted the best for my kit. I was a little scared to start my research, because there are so many out there on the market. And it did not take me longer to make my decision: TML- The Makeup Light , it was the one that made my heart beat. And I remember seeing it featured in The Makeup Artist Magazine, as well, magazine that I trust and get it regularly. I placed my order right away and got it so quick.
I opted for The Key Light Starter Package for the beginning.

My 1st impression: 5 stars *****
– very cute, it does not even look like a light
– the size of an iPad
– LED light – it can burn 8 hours a day for 17 years. YAY!
– easy to travel with, easy to carry, lightweight
– comes with a goose neck, which makes it so easy to be positioned in the right direction
– comes with its own “Stuff Sack ” carry bag

A backpack could be purchased separatelly, if you prefer to have your hands free.

One of the most important day of your life, which you’ve dreamt about since you were a little girl, is just around the corner and there are still so many things that need to be done for that special day-your wedding. It seems that time is not our friend and it is not so generous the more that day approaches. So, starting to get prepared ahead of time is the best idea. There are so many things to think about, there are so many people to contact, a lot of plans to be made. And in the end everything should come perfect…because that is your day and over years you still want to remember it with so much enthusiasm.

Make-up plays an important role when it comes about weddings. Not only the bride should have her makeup done, but also the other attendants, and that is because when taking pictures or making the video the skin and other features will look all smooth and defined.
I am thinking of brides as very delicate beings, so gentle and sensitive. They are all beautiful and makeup should only enhance those features so that when they walk down the aisle they still look like themselves, but in a more glamorous way.

There are certain things to consider when choosing the makeup for the brides, and few of these are the color of the bouquet, the type of dress, the hairstyle, the age, but also if she is allergic or sensitive to any of the cosmetic ingredients.

Every bride is in the center of attention on her wedding day, so the way the makeup is applied should be perfect. The foundation should match her skin tone and it is meant to emphasize its beauty and not cover it. Anything that has a high SPF should be avoided if you do not want to look too white in the pictures. The eye makeup should not compete with the lips and cheeks, so the attention will be drawn on either one or the other. Colors that emphasize the bride’s iris are a choice for eye makeup, but also eye shadows that coordinate with the bridal bouquet could be used. Some choices would be roses, salmons, plum, lilac, pink, chestnut, grey or neutral. Stay away of frosty or shadows that are too sparkly as they reflect light and could look white in photos.Tears on the wedding day are to be expected so waterproof mascara is a must. Also, false lashes are suggested for the eyes to look more opened. For the lips, never go too pale, because they need to be caught by the camera. Few ideas are coral, pink, raspberry, mauve, red.

Bettie Page, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor are just a few names that I am sure everybody that hear about the pinup period will associate it with these memorable icons. The era when this type of makeup was in bloom included the period between 1940s-1950s, but even nowadays it offers such a sophisticated look, so easy to achieve.
Here are the steps you have to follow in order to achieve that doe-eyed look.

Once the face is cleansed and moisturized, apply a concealer to cover all the imperfections (dark circles, any blemishes that might exist etc.). You can apply it over the entire eyelid, as well, in order to bring more light to the eyes. Then, go with a foundation as close to your skin tone as possible, making sure it is blended very well. If you cannot find the perfect match, choose a light-tone foundation. It is preferable to have a matte finish to it. Using an illuminator, add some brightness above the eyebrows and on the cheekbones zone, blending it around the eyes. Add some powder to set up the foundation. The pinup look is also characterized by a flawless complexion.

Now that we have a perfect canvas, we can continue with the rest of the makeup, taking into consideration that the main focus should be on the lips.
The eyebrows should be well groomed and penciled, thickening the beginning part and curving them a little. Make them look bold and even. Apply a very light color such as vanilla, ivory, nude, champagne, on the entire eyelid, and contour the crease using taupe, pink or grey. The color used for the contour could be used to line the bottom lash line very soft. The star of the eyes remains the black eyeliner, which could be either in a liquid or cream form.

There are a lot of women who do not like or do not have time to wear makeup, although they still want to look better every day or to enhance a feature of their appearance.
There is a solution for them, of course, which I will write about below.

First of all, clean and moisturize your face with the proper moisturizer before any makeup is applied. If your face looks flawless, you can skip the foundation and apply just a concealer to cover the shadowed areas.
If you were not blessed with the most perfect skin, then apply a foundation that has a dewy finish, so not only will make you look even but it will also make you look glowing. Set it up with a translucent loose powder and add a sheer blush on your cheeks.

If you want to accentuate the eyes, you can add a natural color eye shadow over the entire lid and line the inside rim of the eyes, both the upper and the bottom one, using a brown, black or grey kohl pencil, just to add some definition. This will also make the lashes look fuller.
Also, apply one coat of brown or black mascara and you are almost done. The eyebrows should be well groomed and filled in very soft, for this it is better to use a powder eyebrow color rather than a pencil, as it will go on softer. Stay as close as you can to your natural hair color when doing the brows.
For the lips, if you still want them to look natural, go with a lip balm or a sheer lipstick in their natural color or simply, just apply a transparent lip gloss.

And now…ready to leave the house with “no makeup”: who might say you wear it? 😉

We all know that the sun is one of the biggest enemy of the skin aging, but some of us still spend hours trying to achieve that tanned look. I personally am so afraid of taking a sunbath, but love at the same time the sun-kissed look. So here it is how you can get a sunny glow without damaging your skin.
Apply a tinted moisturizer first or a foundation that gives you a sheer or medium coverage. Make sure you dust a little loose powder to set it but at the same time to create a smooth base for the bronzer that is to be applied.

Time for the bronzer, my favorite for every summer! You can apply it by using a Kabuki brush, making sure you shake any excess off before. Consider that when we tan, we do not get an evenly color. So go just over the areas that are more exposed. The easiest way to apply the bronzer is drawing the number three on each part of the face, starting with the forehead, continuing with the cheek and ending at the jaw line. Then add a little product over the bridge of the nose, neck and décolletage.

The best eye shadow color to illuminate the eyes is bronze. It will go with any eye color. Other colors that would work are golds, browns, beiges, preferably in a shimmery texture. If you want to skip the shadow, just a pencil in the colors that I have mentioned would look beautiful, as well. Black or brown mascara and you are almost done!
For the lips I recommend to keep them natural, just add a little gloss over.

And do not forget: if the sun is there, use a high SPF to protect your skin.

As we age, our skin texture becomes thinner and we notice that skin around the eyes becomes saggy. Do not be afraid to apply makeup, as there are some good tips to consider when dealing with aging skin.

After an anti-aging moisturizer is applied, we should make any corrections before applying the foundation. The dark circles under the eyes will be covered with a concealer lighter in texture, in order to avoid the folds to become more obvious. Age spots and other discolorations will be covered with a special corrector, as well.

When choosing the foundation, I recommend one that will give you a full coverage, but still not looking heavy, with moisturizing and anti-aging properties, as well, and with a dewy finish. Stay away of the matte finishes, as they will get into the wrinkles and feel obvious on the face. I prefer to use an illuminating concealer around the eyes, especially in the outer corners, to make the eye area look rested and to give the illusion of lifted eyes. Loose powder can be applied to set the foundation. I prefer the powders that diffuse the light and create the illusion of less wrinkles.

We can move to the eye area now. If the eyelid is much wrinkled, we could concentrate more on the lips or skin, going very light on the eye color and using matte shadows. If the eyelid is not wrinkled, we can apply a darker shadow in the corners and a pearly shadow in the center of the eyelid.

In order to give the illusion of an eye-lift there are three methods to be considered. Turn the liner up at the corner of the upper eyelid, curl the eyelashes and line the eyebrows above the natural line, especially the tail of the brows, as this tends to fall as we age. The bottom lash line should be shaded very soft, in colors such like gold, mauves or blue grays. The top line should be 2-3 times thicker than the bottom one, in order to create that lifted effect. A good idea is to use a white pencil inside the lower rim to open up the eyes and cut any redness that may exist.

Apply an iridescent red blush to give the face life and light. If the face is very dry, apply a cream blush instead, right on top of the foundation, before the light powder is applied.

Lining the lips will create a more definition and will prevent the lipstick from bleeding. For a longer wear color, you can apply the lip liner all over the lips, and then go with the lipstick. Mature skin should stay away of the brown color lipsticks, using instead reds, pinks or corals. If preferring to add a gloss, use it only in the center of the lips, as applying it all over the lips will make the lipstick bleed.

Applying blush, also known as rouge, will give every woman a healthy look, accentuating their cheekbones and adding warmth to the face. This is also a good way to create a youthful appearance to the face.

We are all used to smile when it comes to apply the blush. According to Rae Morris, a multiple award-winning makeup artist, the muscle that protrudes is not always the cheek muscle, so when relaxed, the area will fall back closer to the mouth than the cheekbone. This way, we end up aging ourselves. For everyday makeup, the right area to apply the blush is between the corner of the mouth and corner of the ear as the base and corner of the nose and temples as the upper limit. There should be a distance of two fingers between the corner of nose and the blush color.

There might be exceptions, depending on what kind of look we want to create.
Blushes come in formulations like compact powders, liquids, creams, sticks, loose or gels. If you have dry or more mature skin wear a cream texture blush rather than powder, so this will not creep into wrinkles. But if you still prefer a powder type formula, stay away of the matte ones, opting instead for the pearly tones in order to get a dewy look. On the other hand, oily skins might use matte powder formulas.

When selecting the color for a natural look, for fair skin, peach, coral or rosy shades work the best. The olive skin looks great in dark rose, peach, orange or bronze tones. Black skin is flattered by bright colors like plum, fuchsia, warm apricots or deep bronze. As regards the redheads, the best colors are peach or coral shades.

And do not forget: blush color should be in the same color family with lip color (both warm or both cool).

Whether going out in the night or having a special occasion, the makeup we wear should be different than the one we are used to wear every day. That means that more definition is required for the eyes, cheeks or lips. But most of the time, the star of the evening makeup will be the eyes.

So, here it is a simple way of creating an evening look.

After the face is cleansed and moisturized, I recommend applying the makeup for the eyes first. This will prevent any falling shadow messing up with the makeup base. The first step of the makeup is applying a corrector on the entire eye area, both on the eyelid and under the eyes, in order to correct any skin redness and to cover the dark circles. It is very important to blend the corrector at the base of the eyelashes. By doing this will assure that the makeup will go smoother and will stay in place all night, as well. But before any color is applied, sweep a little loose powder on the entire eye area.

Now we are ready to apply the color. We don’t necessary need more than two shadows. An easy choice is using black and vanilla. One of the easiest methods of applying them is blending the black color on the entire mobile eyelid up to the bone. Fill in any gaps between the eyelashes with a Kohl black pencil and apply it also inside the inner rim of the upper and lower lid. Blend it into the black shadow, using an angle brush and fix it with shadow below the lower lashes. Using a thick brush, blend the light color on the brow bone and the inner corner of the eyes. Applying two coats of mascara is very important as the emphasis of the makeup is on the eyes, you can even add more drama by using some false lashes. Do not forget about the brows. Use a natural hair color eyebrow pencil or powder to fill them in. Clean any excess of eye makeup with a Q-tip or clean brush.

Having the eyes all made up, we can apply now the foundation to even out the complexion and set it up with a translucent loose powder. Because we want the attention to be on the eyes, the lip color should be a soft tone. As regards the cheeks, we could use a heavy pigmented color as the night makeup blush is stronger in intensity.
If black is too much for you, it could be replaced by dark grey, brown, green, blue or purple.